Easter Parade
by StoryLake
Summary: Follows "Let It Snow" and "The Kiss". Toby is spending spring break with Sarah. What could go wrong?
1. Chapter 1

**Easter Parade**

_A Seasonal Labyrinth Fan Fiction._

**Author's Note: **This is part three in a series of related stories, the first of which is "Let it Snow" and then "The Kiss". Like the first two, this *should* stand on its own, however your enjoyment may be increased by reading the previous entries first. The associations with commonly-celebrated holidays are purely secular and not meant to imply any particular religious affinity held by any of the characters.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the concept or characters from the movie, _Labyrinth_.

When Sarah first broached idea of staying in her dorm over spring break, she was met with universal resistance. Toby reminded her that she had promised to take him to Chuck E. Cheese's, an activity his parents were disinclined to participate in. Her father reminded her of this also, perhaps fearing he'd have to relent and do it himself if she were not at home. He also reminded her of her plans to clean and paint her old bedroom, part of an ongoing effort to make it more "grown-up". Her step-mother was also keen on the bedroom remodeling, suggesting that perhaps when Sarah was at school, _she_ might make use of it for her writerly pursuits. Karen wrote romance novels, most of which tended to feature heroines who rescued a lonely man from the memory of his ex-wife and helped him begin fresh with a new family. Step-children of varying degrees of brattiness were often prominently featured, originality not being a trait that Karen particularly possessed. Sarah sighed when they had all reminded her of why she should come home, but her father, who was currently on the other end of the telephone line, failed to notice.

"Karen has picked out some lovely paint, Sarah, and a very nice little desk too; antique cherry with plenty of room for her word processor." Realizing, perhaps, that this last bit was not especially enticing to his daughter, he quickly added, "We want your room here to be as grown-up as you are, sweetheart." He paused, then said, "You can use the word processor also, if you have any papers to write. Karen bought an extra box of discs just for you."

_How considerate,_ thought Sarah, but kept it to herself because she knew she'd never be able to voice it without sounding sarcastic. "That's nice, Dad, really, but I'd like to stay here and try to get a bit ahead in my studies." She hoped it didn't sound like she was pleading.

She could almost _hear_ her father frowning. His whole voice had a down-turned sound to it when he spoke again. "Of course I can't force you to come home, Sarah, but I am surprised that you would disappoint Toby."

_Foul, _thought Sarah, _dirty pool!_ He knew Toby was her weak spot. "Well," she stalled, nearly relenting. Her eyes roamed her small dorm room while she tried to think of another reason to stay. "I...uh..." her gaze lit upon the large suitcase her roommate had packed in anticipation of her own imminent departure. An idea struck her and before she could consider it too carefully, she blurted, "he can come here!"

"Come there?" Her father's voice sounded puzzled. "You mean stay with you? In your dorm?" In the background, Toby began shouting excitedly.

Sarah gulped, realizing she should probably have thought this through a bit better. Still... "Sure," she said, with a confidence she didn't feel, "my roommate won't be here and so there'll be an empty bed." She twisted the phone cord tightly about her finger, turning the tip a smooth pearly white. "It'll be fun!" she exclaimed brightly.

"Hmmm," said her father, "that would give Karen and I a chance to take that vineyard tour." In the background, Karen's voice berating Toby to simmer down went suddenly still.

_And that's that, _thought Sarah. There was no way her step-mother would pass on a trip. She was still mad about Valentine's Day, but even her desire to put Sarah to work with a paintbrush wouldn't be enough to get her to refuse this proposal. She'd probably work the whole thing into one of her books. _Vineyard Dreams, _thought Sarah, giggling into the back of her hand, _ Love Among the Grapes. _The possible titles were endless. She chortled.

"What's that, Sarah? asked her father.

"Nothing, Dad." Suppressed laughter made her eyes water. She wiped them and sniffed, "I just choked on a piece of popcorn, that's all."

"Hmm...well...if you say so." Her father sounded doubtful, though whether he was unsure over the plan to have Toby visit or her before-bed popcorn, she had no idea. "I'll talk it over with Karen and get back to you tomorrow."

* * *

And that is how it came to be that six year-old Toby Williams, on the second Saturday in April, arrived to spend spring break at his sister's college.

"Sarah!" A small cyclone erupted from the back seat of the Williams family's lovingly preserved Plymouth Volare. Sarah had just enough warning to remember her yoga conditioning and plant herself firmly on the cement steps to her dorm before her little brother hit her like a bag of bricks, throwing his arms about her waist and squeezing hard.

"Whoa, Toby, take it easy." She hugged him back and slid one arm free from his embrace so she could tousle his hair. Behind him, their father emerged from the driver's side of the car, duffel bag in hand.

Toby was bouncing with excitement, giving little hops on his toes and letting go of Sarah to spin around her instead. Their father shook his head with exasperation. "He's been like this ever since we left this morning," he told Sarah, navigating past the whirling boy and handing her the stuffed bag.

The front passenger window of the Volare rolled down and Karen leaned out. "Make sure he goes to sleep by eight o'clock, Sarah, and no scary movies before bed." She frowned briefly at her step-daughter as though contemplating the myriad depravities her only son was likely to be exposed to, then smiled and waved gaily at Toby. "Bye-bye, sweetie, have a good time!"

"Here's the list of places we'll be staying." Sarah's father handed her a sheet of paper covered with Karen's neat printing in her signature lavender ink. "We'll be back next Saturday, most likely around lunchtime." He scratched his head and looked uncomfortable. "Karen asked me to remind you that Toby..." his voice lowered to a whisper, "...still believes in the Easter Bunny, so don't, you know, _do anything_, you know..." he shifted his feet and looked pointedly towards Toby who was investigating some rocks near the dorm entrance.

Sarah raised her eyebrows and shook her head. "I _know_, Daddy. You don't have to worry." Toby believed in lots of things, some of which were more real than his parents realized.

Karen reached over and tapped the horn lightly. "We'd better get going, dear," she called from the window.

Toby ran over and hugged his dad and waved to his mom, slipping his hand neatly into Sarah's and smiling a wide watermelon smile. Their father laughed and smiled back. "Okay then, have a good time kids." He started toward the car, stopped and turned back to them. "Oh and Sarah, I was thinking..." he glanced back at his wife, impatiently drumming her long, fuchsia fingernails on the car door, "...that we might celebrate Easter a day early, take you and Toby out to dinner when we pick him up next week." The words came out in a rush, as though he expected her to refuse.

Sarah smiled warmly then, a rush of familial love filling her. "Sure Dad, that's a great idea. There's a nice place in town we could try." She gave her step-mother a little wave. "I'm sure Karen would like it."

"Bye Dad! Bye Mom!" Toby waved his free hand, bouncing again in his Spider-man sneakers.

"Great," said their father, and this time he made it back to the car. With a last wave and a few more "good-byes", the shiny blue sedan retreated down the campus drive and Sarah and Toby were left alone.

Most of the other students had already gone and there was a deserted air about the place.

"Boy," said Toby, looking up at his sister, "I thought they'd _never_ leave."

* * *

That evening it was warm enough to have the windows open. Toby and Sarah were in their pajamas, drinking hot cocoa and eating popcorn. The sun had gone down in a blaze or brilliant reds and oranges which hinted at a beautiful tomorrow and they had just settled it between them to take advantage of the warmer weather by planning a picnic.

Toby yawned and snuggled back on the bed Sarah had fixed for him, his small body appearing even smaller between the multicolored mounds of fluffy pillows favored by Sarah's roommate. "Tell me a story, Sarah," he said and yawned again.

Sarah smiled as she caught his yawn, feeling relaxed despite the afternoon's wild rumpus. "Okay, guy, do you have one in mind?"

Toby nodded vigorously, small head bobbing like an apple in the sea of pillows. "Tell the Labyrinth story! Tell me about the Goblin King and the time you wished me away!" His blue eyes sparkled with excitement.

Sarah groaned. "Oh Toby, you've heard that a million times and you _know_ the Goblin King. You talk to him more than I do." _Oh geez, did she sound jealous?_ Her fingers tingled and a warm flush crept up her neck. _Stop it Sarah. Stop it RIGHT NOW._

Toby sat up. "He never tells me anything about the night you wished me away!" His voice was accusing, as though he believed the adults were conspiring to keep things secret. "He won't bring me Underground to see the goblins or the castle or _anything!_" A tired, whiny note crept into his normally sweet voice.

Sarah sighed, running the fingers of one had carelessly through her long, dark hair. "I don't like to think about that night," she said carefully. "It was a long time ago, Toby. You were just a baby and I...I...", she struggled to find the right words, "I wasn't very nice to you." She blushed again, hot shame filling her despite the cooling bridge of years.

Toby reached out and clasped her hand, his small fingers surprisingly strong. "It's okay Sarah. I love you more than sprinkles!" He smiled up at her and she couldn't help but smile at him in return. It was a game they'd been playing since he was old enough to talk.

"I love _you_ more than hot fudge!" she teased, reaching out with her other hand to tickle his feet.

Toby giggled and flung himself back into the pillows. "I love _you_ more than marshmallows!"

Sarah laughed and reached to tickle him again. "Well I love you more than ice cream!"

Toby twisted away from her and burrowed beneath the covers. "Well I love..." He suddenly stopped laughing and went still. "Sarah?" he called.

"What is it, Toby? What's the matter?" There was a faint buzzing at the very edges of her hearing.

"What did you say to make the goblins come and take me away?" He was rigid beneath the comforter, waiting for her answer.

"Oh, Toby," she sighed again. "I just wished that they would come and take you away. And they did." She pulled the covers off of his head and leaned down to deposit a kiss on his forehead. "And then the Goblin King brought me to the Labyrinth and I solved it and brought you back home. Okay?"

Toby regarded her solemnly. "But what did you _say_?"

Sarah blinked at him. "I just told you. I wished that that goblins would come and take you away." There it was again; that strange buzzing like mosquitos hovering just out of sight above her head.

Toby's mouth was set in a stubborn line, his little arms crossed over his chest. "But _what did you say_?" he insisted mulishly.

Sarah rolled her eyes and climbed off of the bed. "I said_, I wish the goblins would come and take you away, right now._ Okay? Can we talk about something else now? Toby?" She leaned over the bed, poking her index finger in the middle of the pile of pillows where he had re-buried himself. "Toby? You do need to come up for air you know." The pillows gave a shudder and all the lights went dark.

Sarah scrambled for the pillows, flinging them off of the bed. A spicy wind came whipping in through the open window and tickled her nose, making her sneeze. "Toby?" Dread was creeping through the darkness, pulling her stomach down into her feet. "Toby!" Something furry cackled and bounded from the bed where moments before, her brother had been. In the darkness, its yellow eyes glowed like twin moons.

_Oh shit, oh no, oh damn it! _ Sarah straightened up, hands on her hips and green eyes flashing. "Show yourself, Goblin King!" she demanded. "Where are you Jareth?" The wind was whipping her hair about her face and she could have sworn she smelled snow.

"Oh, precious thing," came a soft yet powerful voice behind her. "What _have_ you done this time?"


	2. Chapter 2

Toby Williams looked around the throne room of the great Castle Beyond the Goblin City with undisguised delight. The mess! The noise! The goblins! It was the most wonderful thing he had ever seen.

The goblins, for their part, were equally delighted by the appearance of the small boy in his Superman pajamas. There were cries of, "Toby!" and "The Prince!" and also "There's that boy again!", but for the most part individual words were lost amidst the cacophony and general merriment that ensued upon his arrival. They swatted his bottom and pulled his hair and pushed him this way and that, laughing all the while. A squat, hairy goblin wearing a dented helmet pushed a tankard of ale into the boy's hands, but another, less squat but more hairy, slapped the tankard away before Toby could take a sip. The extremely drunk goblin that had proffered the inappropriate beverage was drop-kicked from the room by a truly enormous one that may or may not have shared some lineage with mountain trolls.

Toby had never been happier.

* * *

The same thing could not, unfortunately, be said of his sister.

Sarah faced the Goblin King with anger in her heart. "What the _hell_ do you think you're doing? Bring Toby back here _this instant!_" Her green eyes were dark with rage and within them, little sparks caught and flared, giving her the appearance of being lit from within.

Jareth, King of the Goblins, was armored for battle; given the expression on his intended's face, he would be needing all the protection he could get. He sighed, letting the wind that whipped about them fade to a gentle breeze. "You know very well that I can't do that, Sarah." He couldn't look her in the eyes, preferring instead to pace about the confines of the small room. "What's said is said."

"Bull, Jareth!" The buzzing was much louder now, like the roar of a towering flame as it consumes the air around it. "We've already done this and you _know_ I would never wish him away again." She tracked his progress around the room with her fiery eyes. The air grew warmer.

"It doesn't matter what I know," he said, voice just barely audible above the storm in her ears, "it only matters what _you said_." He eyed her warily, noting the steam rising from her hair and the warm glow of banked coals beneath her skin. Magic crackled in the air around them and not all of it was his.

"Jareth," said Sarah, reaching out to grasp his wrists with her hands, stopping his movement, "You can't have him. Bring him to me now." Her fingers glowed with heat and the leather of his gloves began to smoke.

"I can't, Sarah. That's not the way it works." The Goblin King winced at her touch but did not pull away. The pain in his eyes had nothing to do with his wrists. "Not for him, not for you, and not for me."

"Then take me to him," shouted Sarah. "Just bring me to the Labyrinth again. I'll run the god-damned thing backwards if that's what it takes." Her hands were lost in acrid smoke, the scent of burning leather and flesh rising around them.

Jareth shook his head sadly, beginning to lose solidity, his voice becoming hollow. "I can't do that either, Sarah. Not this time." He met her gaze at last, mismatched eyes full of the things he wished to say, but couldn't.

Sarah became aware that she was no longer holding onto anything, the Goblin King having become as insubstantial as the smoke around them. "Wait!" she cried, desperation making her shrill. "Don't go! It's not fa..." A ghostly hand shot out and covered her mouth, surprising her into silence.

"Don't, Sarah." His voice was ragged. "Don't say 'it's not fair', please, I can't..." The hand on her lips dissolved like the last of his words.

The Goblin King was gone and Sarah was alone.

* * *

Toby was having the time of his life.

Various goblins were giving him piggy-back rides, tossing him gently about the room and tickling him with their whiskers and spindly fingers. He was having a blast, but eventually, he began to tire. When the goblins noticed his droopy eyes and large yawns, they led him to a pile of pillows in a sunken area before the throne. Though he sleepily protested that he "wasn't tired!", the goblins managed to shush him _and_ themselves and soon enough, he was sound asleep among a pile of them.

That was how Jareth found him, when he coalesced out of the shadows and stood frowning above the sleepers. The conscious goblins seemed alarmed at his appearance, gesturing to the smoke that still curled from the tatters of his gloves, but he waved them into silence. He stepped carefully into the small pit and squatted beside the small boy sleeping there. As if sensing his presence, Toby's eyes popped open.

"King Jareth!" Toby fought mightily against the tide of sleep pulling him. His arms reached up to grab Jareth around the neck.

Jareth grimaced, then gently disentangled Toby's arms from his high collar. "Toby," he said softly, "why?"

Toby yawned hugely and his eyes fluttered closed again. "I wanted to see the castle and the goblins."

Jareth pulled a crystal onto his fingertips and wove it into a warm blanket. "Already acting the prince..." he muttered, covering the boy.

Toby pulled the blanket around him like a shell, burrowing into its warmth. "And _you_," he whispered and then his words gave way to soft snores.

* * *

For the space of a heartbeat, Sarah blazed incandescent, her fury making her a pillar of flame that scorched the ceiling, set fire to her bed and caused the automatic sprinklers to turn on in her room.

It was the shock of cold water that brought her back to herself. That, and the piercing shriek of the fire alarms.

Ignoring the water pooling around her feet, she quickly grabbed her oversize backpack from its hook on the wall and climbed into her closet. It was a tight fit, both her and the backpack, but somehow, pressed flat against her winter coat and her roommate's shaggy bathrobe, head buried deep between the crammed-in shirts and sweaters, she was able to muffle the noise that assaulted her ears. She was able to think.

_I am so completely and utterly screwed, _ was her first thought, quickly banished as unhelpful. _I have to get to Toby,_ was her second, which while accurate, was still lacking in helpfulness. _Gah! What is WRONG with me?_ She slammed her head against the back of the closet, trying to clear her mind. Outside in her room, the fire alarm was still blaring.

And then it stopped. All at once, there was quiet.

Sarah exhaled sharply, letting herself sink down until she was sitting on a stack of shoe boxes. Her wet clothes clung to her, making her shiver; little streams of water ran down her face like tears. _I have to get out of here._ Her eyes swiveled toward her dresser, invisible behind the closed closet door.

Slowly and painfully, she unfolded herself and climbed out. Ignoring the ruin of her room, she went straight for the top drawer of her dresser and removed something small and round, wrapped in a woolen sock. She shoved it, sock and all, into her backpack and stood still, listening. In the distance, she could hear voices; campus officials and maybe firemen. _Damn. _The last thing she needed was to be stopped and delayed. A cool breeze swept the room and she shivered and sneezed. _I've got to get dry._ She had a change of clothes in her pack, but everything around her was soaked. _If I only had some of that heat now..._ she let the thought trail off as an idea crept into her mind.

She had never tried to focus her magic before. Since Jareth had helped her get it under control, she hadn't really thought about it at all. It was too weird, too frightening; easier to put it out of her head and concentrate on the things that made sense. Thinking about the magic brought thoughts of the Goblin King and all the confusion of the feelings he inspired in her.

Should she try it now? The sudden pounding of footsteps in the hall outside decided her. With a deep breath, she found her center and reached down, down, down...there, in the depths of her, fire slept. Eyes closed, arms braced and palms pushing against each other, Sarah imagined a very small breeze fanning that fire.

_Whoosh!_

Startled, she leapt back. Small flames danced before her eyes and a feeling of warmth permeated her limbs. Ignoring the shouts from outside, she concentrated on that warmth, nurturing it and encouraging it to grow. Her damp clothes began to steam. It was working! She was drying out! Elation swept over her along with a tickly feeling of power that acted on her like very strong drink. Giddy, she ignored the still-rising heat and the little sparks of flame that jumped from her skin to the surrounding room. A pounding on her door was likewise ignored. All of her attention was on the fire building within her. She was beyond dry now, her clothes beginning to smoke; the bitter smell of it entered her nose and from within her whirlwind of flame, she remembered what she needed to do. _Toby. _ She must find Toby.

Reaching into her pack, she pulled out the sock, which flared in the heat and then crumbled away, revealing a perfect, solid crystalline sphere. She held it in front of her, eyes searching its interior for...something. _What do I do now? _she wondered. The sphere reflected her burning eyes and wild, heat-frazzled hair. _Think, Sarah._ This was supposed to help her call on the Goblin King and she knew he used these to channel his own magic. Could she do the same? _Toby,_ she thought, _take me to Toby._

Two firefighters burst into her room just in time to witness an explosion of flame that was oddly silent and silver in hue. They found no one inside.

* * *

The Goblin King shivered on his balcony beneath the stars. Frost rimmed the crystalline balustrade and glinted in the moonlight atop the Labyrinth walls. He felt that it would snow before much longer, the first real snow his kingdom had seen in a thousand years._ If he didn't bring her home soon..._

But no, it did not bear considering. _What's done is done._ Let those that came after him judge the rightness of his actions; let them decide whether or not the ends justified the means. He did not care to be bothered.

In the darkness of the room behind him, his chosen prince slept peacefully with a handful of especially furry goblins for company. In his sleep, the small boy reached out and patted one or another as though they were cats. The goblins purred obligingly, making the corners of their king's mouth turn up slightly with amusement.

Below in the dark city, various bonfires blazed in haphazard piles of wood and rock as creatures large and small, unaccustomed to the cold, tried to keep warm. Already, those that lived outside the city walls were moving within, finding warmth in numbers. Jareth sighed, his breath floating before him in a silver cloud. He moved to return inside and was just crossing the threshold when...

...an explosion of silver flame lit the room and its sleepers. The goblins leaped up chittering and wild-eyed, while Toby rubbed his eyes and began to cry.

For his part, Jareth could only stare, openmouthed, at the blazing figure that appeared in the center of the flames. For the space of a heartbeat, the unnatural fire burned without heat, then there was a brilliant flare and...

...nothing. The form in the fire became a dark-haired girl who slumped to the ground, all flame extinguished. "Sarah!" cried Toby, first to realize who it was and throwing himself across the prone figure of his sister.

Jareth rushed forward to kneel beside them, one hand pushing the tangled hair back from her face while the other birthed a crystal that emitted soft light. Toby was still crying, but the Goblin King gently passed the crystal over his head and he too, collapsed in sleep. He placed them both in his own bed and settled himself in a divan at its foot to keep watch through the night.

After a long while, snow began to fall softly over the castle and the city. At long last, he also slept.


	3. Chapter 3

_Damn, I must have left the window open._

Half-asleep, Sarah stretched an arm out and felt around for the thin metal rim of her window. It was freezing and her whole body ached with a deep-down cold that probably meant she had thrown off all the covers ... again.

_What the hell? _

Her fingers, having failed to locate the window, were instead exploring a surface that was cold and rough, pocked here and there with little craters like pumice. It was a far cry from the smoothly painted cinder block that made up the walls of her dorm.

_Oh, shit._

She opened her eyes. Above her head, a velvet canopy stretched between four thick wooden bed-posts, each ornately carved with various grotesque faces. In the dim light, they looked rather like...

A soft sigh made her turn her head.

Nestled into the mattress, Toby was curled around a trio of furry goblins. One of them, reddish-brown and fluffed like a pillow, opened an eye and winked at her. Her subsequent gasp caused it to shut the eye tightly again, but a low rumble suggested it might be laughing at her -- or possibly snoring.

_Toby!_ She turned and watched him again. One of the goblins snuggled against his back gave a loud snore and her little brother giggled in his sleep, reaching out with one hand to grasp the goblin's gnarled ear. _Eew,_ thought Sarah, then shook her head to focus her thoughts. _One thing at a time, _ she told herself. _One thing at a time._

Toby was clearly safe. They were clearly in the Goblin King's castle, quite possibly in his...

_No Sarah, don't think about that. _

She slid her legs over and off the side of the high bed, finding it was still a bit of a drop to the floor. _Quite tall, isn't he? _

She stood on some furs, the no-doubt reluctant contribution of some indeterminate animal, and took in the room. It was large, though it would have appeared larger still without the massive bed and heavy velvet drapery. The floors were brightly tiled, littered with furs and an assortment of over-sized cushions. The walls were stone and sloped up gradually from the floor to a Persian-inspired dome. With the aid of the early light leaking in through arched windows, she could see the ceiling was entirely covered in a fabulously whimsical painting of the Labyrinth and many of its denizens.

It was quite breath-taking. And every surface was rimed with frost. Sarah shivered.

_Now this, at least, I can do something about._

* * *

The Goblin King heard the commotion before he witnessed it.

He had slipped from his chambers in the hour before dawn, reluctant to be present when his guests awoke. Wrapped in heavy furs, he paced the corridors and passageways, climbing every stairway he came across until he grew warm and limber. The exercise cleared his mind, and as the first breath of sun warmed the edges of the sky, he approached his throne room. The heavy oak doors with golden filigree stood open -- which perhaps should have warned him that something was amiss. As it was, the first clue to sink in was the noise.

The noise of goblins rises exponentially as their numbers increase. Stepping into the large space, Jareth's first estimate was that fully half of the goblins who inhabited his kingdom had managed to squeeze themselves into the confines of the room. He wasn't far off.

The din was incredible, shouts and cheers and honks and something that sounded like a flock of chickens performing Handel's _Messiah._ Jareth peered through the milling bodies, finding it hard to pick out just one creature amidst the chaos. Briefly, he contemplated a retreat. If pressed, he could pretend he hadn't seen anything. He was a master dissembler, after all. Then he spotted the eggs.

Chicken eggs in every color of the rainbow were scattered underfoot. They were also flying through the air, a point made clear as one splattered against the door frame beside him. Jareth gave the drippy yolk and bits of turquoise eggshell a withering glare, then very carefully reached out to dip one leather-clad finger. He held the finger up, eyeing the slippery goo with disdain. At his feet, a magenta egg shattered impressively, bits of shell spotting his boots like polka dots.

"What," said the great Lord of the Labyrinth, "do we have here?" Beside him, a smallish goblin with sticky yellow fur paused in its licking of yolk from the dirty floor and looked up in alarm. Like a particularly virulent virus, awareness of his presence spread rapidly around the room as one by one, goblins fell silent, heads turning to where he stood. With a sickening _splat_, one final egg, chartreuse in color, landed smack dab in the center of his forehead. The little yellow goblin gave a squeak of fear.

"Bog," said Jareth, voice icy. He gestured with his clean hand, waving it above the heads of the crowd.

There was a cloud of glitter and blue smoke and when it cleared, the room, save for the king, was empty.

* * *

It was too much. _Way_ too much.

Inside the chamber, the temperature rose steadily. On the bed, Toby shrugged off his companions as they scratched and bit at the covers in their sleep. The small boy tossed and turned, but dreamed on.

Outside the chamber, goblins like snowflakes drifted along the wall, pressing their bodies against the king's rooms and basking in the heat that radiated from them. Melting frost made little puddles here and there and everywhere.

The Goblin King navigated the puddles carefully and ignored the chittering goblins. Letting himself into his chamber in the normal way, he paused to note Toby sleeping, then waved away the remaining goblins. He then allowed himself a long, leisurely look at the girl who struggled with the heavy balcony doors at the far end of the large room. Her long, dark hair was slick with sweat, but her pale skin glowed and her unflattering sleeping attire was rendered rather more appealing by its adhesion to her torso.

Jareth grinned.

"Precious thing," he drawled lazily from the doorway, "you _do_ heat things up, don't you?"

* * *

Sarah couldn't help but despise herself, just a little, for the relief that must have been evident in her face as she turned toward the the Goblin King. It was only by Herculean effort, that relief did not touch her voice as well. "Jareth," she said flatly, watching him.

His smile mocked her. "I'd tone it down a bit, if I were you, Sarah. Have you ever smelled a sweaty goblin? Nasty." He feigned distaste, curling his lips down and lowering his brows.

"I'll keep that in mind," said Sarah and turned back to the door. "If you want to be useful, you could help me open this before we all suffocate." She renewed her efforts with the thick brass handles, though she felt quite certain it was useless unless he helped.

"You came," he breathed into her ear, suddenly behind her though she hadn't heard him move a step. "I'm quite impressed, my dear."

"Oh yes," said Sarah, the words catching in her throat like small stones, "I was so _hoping_ to impress you. That's why I'm melting in this sauna with the locked doors, can't you tell?" The scent of him so near, was making her dizzy. _Air. I need air!_ She tugged again on the door, refusing to look at him.

"It's not locked, Sarah," he said softly, arms reaching to either side of her, gloved hands pushing hard on the doors. He gave a small grunt of effort and the doors swung open. A blast of frosty air hit them and snowflakes swirled around the room.

She stepped outside, gulping deep breaths and regretting it as her lungs burned with cold.

"Here." A dark cloak, thick and warm, was draped across her shoulders.

Sarah took in the heavy snowfall and the early morning sky, just beginning to lighten; a rosy glow in the east hinted at a warmth not felt in the freezing city beneath them. She pulled the cloak closely about her, conscious of his presence at her side. He was staring off across the rooftops below, weariness etched in the fine lines of his face and snowflakes sprinkling his wild hair like diamond shavings. "Is this normal?" she asked, gesturing at the snow.

He shrugged, still not looking at her. "It's not unheard of, but it is unusual."

"What about Toby?" She kept her voice carefully neutral.

"Toby? What of him?"

"What do you plan to do with him?"

"_Do with him?_ Nothing." Now he did turn to her, catching her eyes with his own, his gaze as frosty as the air surrounding them. Her expression prompted him to laugh, a low, unpleasant sound. "He won't be turned into a goblin, if that's what you're worried about."

Sarah held his gaze. "I wasn't. The king of the goblins isn't a goblin, why would the prince need to be?"

Jareth snorted and smiled a small smile, cocking his head and causing an avalanche of snow from the more pointy parts of his hair. "Why indeed?" He leaned forward until his face was only inches from hers. "Are you so sure that I'm not a goblin? Perhaps you need a closer examination." His smile became a leer.

_Why aren't I angry?_ Sarah dropped her eyes, studying the curve of his neck; the white skin of his throat had smoky patches like purplish bruises. Her hands itched to trace the hollows there, her lips burning with remembered kisses. _He wants me to be angry. _Her eyes widened at the realization. What should she say?

Their mingled breath made sparkling clouds that caught the growing light. He was clearly expecting her to lash out at him. His face was hard, braced for a blow, lips still down-turned in a half-sneer.

Sarah lunged forward, dark cloak slipping and pooling at her feet like black water. Startled, Jareth pulled away, but he was unbalanced and slipped backwards on the icy stones to fall instead, Sarah landing on top of him.

For an instant, she didn't move, breath catching in her throat as she gathered her courage. This close, she breathed in the smell of him, sharp in the cold, a mixture of dusky leather and exotic spices. Her hair was a dark curtain as she leaned down and caught his mouth with her own.

Then came an awkward space of time where he lay perfectly frozen, elegant brows raised in disbelief; not responding, not pushing her away. Sarah faltered...

...and with a guttural growl, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer. His mouth moved on hers, pushing and pulling, giving -- and receiving in kind. Snow continued to fall and where it touched, the icy crystals melted and steamed back into the air. The effect was of being immersed in a shimmering fog.

"Sarah..." he murmured into her lips, gloved hands moving along her spine, beneath her t-shirt and combing through her hair.

"Sarah!" This voice was different: alarmed and indignant all at once as only a small child can be.

_Oh shit._ Sarah pulled herself from the prone king and gathered the dark cloak around her once more. The Goblin King reclined on the ground as though he had always intended to be there, clothing only _slightly_ mussed and expression decidedly amused.

"Toby, you're awake," said Sarah, stepping over the king's boots and moving to her brother. The snow had stopped falling but it was still frigid and ice had formed near the balcony doors where previous accumulation had melted. Toby stood alone in his pajamas, hair mussed and feet bare. Sarah slipped off her cloak and draped it around him, herding him back into the large room which was now, thankfully, much cooler.

"Were you wrestling? Can I play too?" Toby shrugged the cloak off and launched himself back onto the bed, springing from the floor like a cat and proceeding to jump up and down amidst the pillows. His goblin bed-mates were nowhere to be seen, but a dozen or so brightly colored eggs lay scattered about the furs and cushions.

Sarah glanced back once toward the balcony, then moved to the bed. She forced herself to put on her stern face. "Toby!" she reached out to stop his jumps, but he just flopped on the bed instead, rolling in the covers and laughing. Sarah sighed.

"Tobias," said the Goblin King, moving silently to her side. Instantly, her brother stopped rolling and sat up, eyes wide.

"King Jareth!" The small boy wrinkled his nose. "Are you mad at me?" He peered upward and smiled mischievously.

"I am not," said the king, his expression carefully neutral. "You did, after all, accomplish what needed to be accomplished."

Sarah glanced sharply at him. "What are you talking about? What did he do?"

Jareth allowed a ghost of a smile to play over his lips. "_You_ have returned Underground, Sarah." He flicked some errant snowflakes from his sleeve. "I'm afraid now that you're here we have much to discuss." His eyes raked over her flushed and disheveled appearance and his smile grew broad. "I'll leave you two now, but I look forward to more..._conversations_." With a nod, he turned on his heel and departed, leaving the siblings staring after him.

"Damn," said Sarah when he'd gone. "I hate it when he does that."

* * *

Jareth stood at the edge of Goblin City, surveying the situation at hand. As he contemplated the snow-filled streets, a wiry goblin with cracked spectacles and a ratty black scarf wrapped around its neck moved to his side and pressed a long scroll into his hand. Jareth pulled his gaze from the smoke that still rose into the sky from dozens of impromptu campfires and examined the scroll, unrolling it carefully and pursing his lips as he read.

"Hmm," he muttered, expression growing darker, "no improvement, I see."

The wiry goblin shook its head, then went back to picking at its scarf, bony hands pulling off fuzz after fuzz and tossing them into the snow.

"Then I've no choice." The Goblin King returned the scroll to the little goblin just as another figure emerged from the shadows of the Labyrinth wall behind them.

"There's _always_ a choice, yer highness," said the gravelly voice of the newcomer.

Jareth frowned. "Hoggart" He glanced briefly at the stocky dwarf and then returned his gaze to the city. "The destruction of my kingdom is not a choice." His voice was tense, the words clipped.

"It's _Hoggle_, fer the hundredth time, and with all due respect, yer majesty, that's a load of bog-wallop." He swallowed hard, ignoring a sharp glance from the Goblin King and continued, "yer not the only one stands to lose everything and I may be a coward, but I won't...I won't..." he faltered, nervously shuffling his boots in the already disturbed snow.

Jareth snorted, turning to give Hoggle his full attention. "Won't what?" His grin was feral and the little goblin, forgotten beside him, gave a frightened squeak and slid sideways away from the pair.

"I won't let you hurt her," blurted Hoggle, face going whiter than their surroundings.

Jareth sighed and turned away again. Above, thick clouds knitted together to make a blanket over the kingdom and turn the morning sunshine pale and watery. His words, when they finally came, were almost too soft for the dwarf to catch.

"I wish you _could_ stop me."


	4. Chapter 4

Toby was off with the goblins, teaching them about the Easter Rabbit and how colored eggs should be hidden, not thrown.

Sarah couldn't help but laugh, to see how they deferred to him. Like he was a prince. Like he was _their_ prince.

She had wanted to leave. Right away. But Toby had pleaded for them to stay - just for a few days. After all, he pointed out, their parents wouldn't be back until Saturday. Surely they could stay until then?

Sarah hemmed and hawed but in the end, acquiesced. After all, she reasoned, surely they could leave whenever she wished. She didn't need any help, right? But a little voice inside her skull whispered that it might not be so. Still...

Being Underground made her feel strong. It made her feel powerful. It was both frightening and exhilarating. Her magic, so slow to build back home, was quick to respond. She was like dry tinder, and this place was a match.

She stood outside in the late morning sun, still wrapped in the Goblin King's heavy cloak. Something about the frozen city below called to her. Her own magic, born of fire, itched to be set free in this place. She longed to sweep through its streets, burning away the snow and melting away the ice. Its citizens huddled close, but their bonfires were a pale comparison to what she might bring.

It would be the simplest thing in the world to just reach out...

"Sarah"

She started and dropped her hands to her sides. In the frosty air they steamed slightly. She didn't turn her head but stood looking out across the snowy rooftops.

"It's time, Sarah," said the Goblin King, reaching out to lay a hand on her shoulder.

She looked up at him then. His expression was unreadable, seemingly caught somewhere between reluctance and determination. "Time for what?" she asked, and found herself wishing he wouldn't answer.

"It's time for you to return your magic to the Underground. Without it..." he gestured outward, ignoring her look of surprise, "...nothing will grow again. This winter will be eternal."

She stared at him, perplexed - then angry. "I don't get it. I didn't ask for this. I didn't _want_ it, but you _gave_ it to me. You said it was just a _kiss_ of magic. How could it affect your kingdom?"

_So easy..._ It would be so easy to flare up right now, just burn her way out of this crazy situation. Her fingers ached and she had to dig her nails into her palms to keep control.

Jareth's hand on her shoulder tightened its grip. His touch - even through his gloves - was cool.

"It was...unexpected." He brought up his other hand, a delicate crystal sphere balanced on its fingertips.

Sarah dropped her gaze, studying her hands and resisting an urge to pull away from him. "Do I have a choice?"

"No"

* * *

"Crazy, that's what I is," muttered Hoggle under his breath. He crept along a frozen alley on the outskirts of the city. Periodically, he pulled a scrap of paper out of his pocket, consulted it, and continued on, stopping now and again to check a shadowed doorway or peer through the slats of a shuttered window.

It was nearing mid-day, and most of the city's motley assortment of inhabitants were either sleeping or eating - some, disturbingly, doing both at once. Hoggle's own stomach gave a rumble of protest, reminding him that it had been many hours since breakfast.

"Hungry," said his companion, plaintively.

Hoggle glanced down at the small goblin who had materialized from nowhere to walk beside him. "Go eat, why-doncha. I din' ask ye to come along." He hacked and spit, making a show of his indifference.

The small goblin tugged on his vest. "Got dis." It held up a large tomato, so fat and ripe it was a wonder the pressure from the goblin's fingers didn't cause it to burst.

Hoggle licked his lips, cracked from the cold, and tried not to think about how good a bite of that tomato would taste - like summer, like sunshine, like _warmth_. "No time," he snapped, forcing his thoughts back to the matter at hand. If he didn't find what he was looking for soon... Well, it didn't bear considering.

At his side, sounds of eating - loud, slobbery chomps and noisy chewing - made him clench his fists and grit his teeth. He opened his mouth to bark a dismissal, then stopped, eyes caught on a low door set into the side of a ramshackle house; utterly unremarkable, except for the standard rendered in faded and peeling paint upon its face: a sheep dog, rampant.

"Ah," said Hoggle. "This is it."

* * *

Sarah and the Goblin King walked without speaking. With only the occasional glance back, he led her deep into the bowels of the castle.

The further down they went, the colder it became. They moved through passages and down stairways carved from smooth, black rock; everywhere was slick with ice. Deeper and deeper they descended, until at last their progress was halted by a solid sheet of ice stretched across a great archway at the bottom of a set of narrow, slippery stairs.

Jareth stopped in front of the frozen blockade. He turned to Sarah, and in the wan light from the crystal he held, his face was grim. "I can get through this, but it will take time. Considerable time. If you would assist me, we could be through much faster."

Sarah studied him. He stood so still, waiting for her to answer; he could have been an alabaster statue, glittering with frost. She considered the problem before them. It would be a simple thing to melt the ice that was blocking their way. It would take almost no time at all. Was that really what she wanted?

Jareth said nothing further, just watched her with those enigmatic eyes. What would he do if she refused?

She thought about Toby somewhere high above her, busy with goblins. What were they doing here? It suddenly felt like a dangerous game with rules she didn't understand. In the shadows, their breath steaming around them, the Goblin King seemed less like a man and more like an _other._

_Other what, I have no idea._

A rumbling filled the small space where they stood, and pieces of ice and rock from the roof came tumbling down.

"_Now_ Sarah," shouted her companion over the noise, "you must decide now. Choose wisely, for you can already feel the results of my carelessness." He winced as a sharp slab of ice glanced off his shoulder, but kept his eyes locked with hers.

_Help or be buried, some choice._ She brushed past him and placed her hands carefully on the icy wall. The whole cavern trembled. Seemingly without further deliberate thought, heat radiated from her fingertips and her hands began to sink forward. Behind her, the Goblin King lifted his cloak over her head as shelter from the falling debris.

With a final push, the ice gave way completely and they were through.

Once past the archway, the tunnel opened out into a large space, circular in shape, with a pit at its center. The ceiling rose into blackness, becoming invisible, and the sides sloped to the middle, drawing all focus to the bottomless dark there.

They approached it slowly, careful of their footing on the slick floor. No railing or other protection blocked access to the pit. As they drew closer, the air became warmer; still cold, but no longer freezing. They came to a stop a safe distance from the edge, but close enough for Sarah to see the warm glow emanating from its depths.

"What is it?" she asked, and leaned forward slightly, trying to discern exactly what it was she saw.

A strong hand fastened over her arm and pulled her back. Annoyed, she looked up at her captor, eyes flashing.

"I wouldn't do that, if I were you," he said. His gaze swiveled to the pit. "It's quite greedy, you know."

Sarah glared at him, but felt her own eyes reluctantly pulled back to the looming black with its rosy center like some flower of hell. She shook off his grip but kept her feet still. It was warm enough here that she was beginning to sweat in her heavy cloak. _Hell indeed,_ she thought.

"It's - a depository of sorts. I drew on it for the magic that I gifted you, but now that loan has come due and the interest is higher than I had anticipated."

"Interest? What interest?" Sarah peered intently at the glow below. Had it grown brighter?

"I'm sorry, Sarah." There was a brilliant flash, almost blinding in the darkness.

Sarah cried out and threw up an arm to shield her eyes. Behind her, something pushed. Hard.

_Sarah, forgive me._

_

* * *

_

The sky above the Labyrinth flashed and went from steely grey to muted orange.

Hoggle stood, poised to knock upon the little door. At his side, the little goblin gave a squeal of pure terror and darted off down the alley.

When his heart resumed beating, Hoggle gave a sharp rap on the door and pushed it open. His eyes swam, but he wiped them quickly and moved inside. The room beyond was unlit. Were it not for the odd orangish light leaking in through one grimy window, he would not have been able to make out anything at all. As it was, he had to squint hard to see the small figure huddled in a nest of blankets before a cold fireplace.

"Didymus." He greeted the little fox without a smile. "Get up. I hav' need of ye."

The furry figure shifted in the blankets and a narrow muzzle poked up, scenting the air. "Hoggle? Is that really you?"

"Of course it is." The dwarf stalked forward and stood with his hands on his hips, glaring down at the little knight. "Now get up. I've got no time for eejit questions."

The small fox struggled to his feet. His clothing was ragged and his fur stood up every which way, but he shook himself and smoothed his whiskers with one dirty paw. "How may I assist you, my noble friend?" He glanced around at their dismal surroundings. "I'm afraid you catch me at rather a bad time..." his voice grew shaky, and he shivered.

Hoggle's scowl softened. "I'm sorry about Ambrosius. I meant to visit before this..." He broke off and spit on the dirty floor. "There's no time. I need your help." He threw a glance out the window at the queer sky. "She came back."

The eyes of the little fox grew wide. "Milady is here?" Something of his old determination moved across his face. "I will serve her with my dying breath. What does she need?"

Hoggle's face was thunderous. "Nothing," he bit out, "it's too late for her. It's _me_ needs yer help."

"Too late? Help you how?"

"That bastard, Jareth. We're going to kill him."

* * *

**Author Note: **_Deep breaths, everyone. It's going to be okay. Remember what the little worm told Sarah._


	5. Chapter 5

_I hope somebody got the number of that truck._

Sarah groaned and opened her eyes. She was stretched out flat on her stomach. Every muscle in her body felt as though it were on fire. The skin on her fingertips blazed with pain, little daggers of it roaring through her hands and up her arms.

_What the hell happened?_ She struggled to prop herself up on her elbows, and rubbed her eyes with the back of her wrists. Her vision remained blurry as though she had been sleeping in a steam bath. It was so hot...

A dull roar filled her ears, accompanied by a sound reminiscent of bubbling soup. Everything was wet. _The ice,_ thought Sarah, _it's melted._ She struggled into a kneeling position, wincing when her blistered fingers briefly brushed the ground. It was still dark, but the glow from the pit had intensified, and...

_Shit!_ She scrabbled backwards, landing painfully against something hard. She was close to the edge. Too close. The rosy glow was nearer now, as though it had moved up toward the surface. Her hand reached gingerly for the object, fingers closing around something smooth and cool.

_The crystal._ But where was its bearer? She squinted into the darkness, trying to locate another figure. "Jareth?" In the large chamber, her voice sounded high and thin. "Jareth?"

At the very edge of the light cast by the pit, a dark shape lay still. "Oh Gods," said Sarah. She crawled awkwardly toward him, putting all her weight on the heels of her palms and holding her burned fingers rigidly up in the air.

The air was growing hotter, the rock below her knees and hands becoming painful to touch. Sarah reached the prone Goblin King and shifted her weight to her feet, stopping beside him in an ungainly squat. "Jareth?" She shook his shoulder with the flat of one hand; first gently, then firmly. "Wake up."

The pale eyelids of the Goblin King fluttered open. "Sarah?" he whispered. Pain filled his eyes and it was clearly a struggle for him to speak. "What happened?" His voice was so low, Sarah had to lean forward to catch the question.

She shook her head. "What happened? How should I..." A flash of memory lit up the inside of her skull. Horror swept through her. "You _pushed_ me," she said, moving backward.

A gloved hand shot out and clamped around her wrist. "No," he croaked. "You don't understand..."

Sarah struggled against his grip. "Let go!" She clawed at him, crying out as her fingers struck lean muscle and leather. "You tried to _kill_ me!"

He pulled her forward and with a gasp, she landed on top of him. "No," he said, and his voice was stronger. His other arm came up to circle her waist. "Hold STILL, Sarah. I'm going to get us out of here."

Something in his voice cut through her panic. With a small sob, she went limp against him.

He released her wrist. "Thank you my dear. This will be much easier if you cooperate." Almost tenderly, he lay his glove against her cheek; the leather was cool despite the escalating heat around them. "Trust me," he said.

Surprisingly, she did.

* * *

Sir Didymus hurried along behind Hoggle. The face of his old friend was grim, and he elbowed his way through the throng of goblins with a discourtesy the little fox found shocking.

"Where are we going?" Didymus had tried, several times, to get an answer to his question. Hoggle had ignored him. Now, as they drew closer to the castle, their destination seemed obvious.

The noise was deafening. After hiding alone for so long, the small knight found the shouts of the crowd and the press of their many bodies to be most unpleasant. _If only Ambrosius were here. _He gave a deep sigh and forced himself to keep up with his stocky companion, dipping his head at those being shoved and nodding in apology for their hasty passage.

At last the gates to the castle proper loomed before them. Ignoring the jeers of those crowding before the gates, Hoggle pushed to the front and Didymus followed in his wake. Behind the thick iron bars, two bored-looking guards were dozing.

Hoggle reached through and rapped the shield of the guard on the right. "Open up," he said sharply. "Let us in."

The guard's eyes snapped open, wide and googly. "Huh? What?" It straightened itself and kicked its companion in the shins. "Who goes there?"

"Ow," complained the guard on the left, glaring at its partner. "What did you do that for?"

"Shut up!" said the guard on the right, elbowing the left guard in the ribs. He peered through the gate at Hoggle and Sir Didymus. "What do you want?"

"Ow," yelled the guard on the left. "Cut it out!" He lifted his shield and brought it down smartly on the head of the right guard. "Take that!"

The guard on the right turned away from Hoggle and drew a long stick from a sheath on his back. He drew it back and then smacked the left guard across the kneecaps. "I said SHUT UP!"

The guard on the left dropped his shield and clutched at his legs. "Ow ow ow ow ow," he cried, hopping on first one foot, then the other.

Hoggle grabbed the bars of the gate and shook them fiercely. "Open up you nitwits! Open up in the name of the King!"

The two guards -engaged in the pulling of each other's ears and whiskers - stopped, and turned toward the angry dwarf. "The King?" they said in unison.

Sir Didymus cleared his throat loudly. Their eyes swiveled to him and, seeing that, he bowed low. "Sir Didymus, Knight, at your service."

The guard on the left poked its companion in the ribs and stage-whispered, "It's a _knight_!"

The guard on the right smacked the left guard's hand away and stage-whispered back, "I _know_ it's a knight. I'm not deaf!" He stared at the little fox, trying to make him out.

"Please open the gate, good fellows," said Sir Didymus cheerily. "The King has granted all knights of the castle admittance in perpetuity."

"He doesn't _look_ like a knight, " stage-whispered the guard on the left, fingering its long beard thoughtfully. "What does _perpetuity_ mean, anyway?"

The guard on the right shrugged. "Beats me, but he's right about the King." He waved his stick imperiously at the crowd. "Stand back!" He sprung the lock and pulled the gate doors inward.

Sir Didymus stepped through but Hoggle found his way barred by one of the long sticks. "Not you," snapped the guard on the right. "Knights only!"

"Didymus," cried Hoggle, pushing against the guards, "Wait!"

The little knight was past them and halfway to the grand stairs before the castle doors. Hearing his companion call, he turned and peered back at the gate. "Changed your mind, have you friend?" One paw moved nervously along his shabby coat and breeches, smoothing them. "Never fear! I will go in your stead and straighten this whole thing out." He gave a cheery wave and turned back toward the castle.

"Tsk tsk," he muttered, "tis all some kind of misunderstanding."

"Didymus!" bellowed Hoggle, helpless against the press of the guards. They forced him back through the gate and locked it behind him. "Don't trust him, Didymus!" cried the fuming dwarf, desperate to be heard above the shouting guards and jeering crowd. "Don't trust the King!"

* * *

Toby was hungry. "Is there anything to eat around here? Pizza maybe?"

The goblins looked at him blankly. A short one with ears like curly mushrooms produced something round and vaguely green - like a moldy meatball - from his pocket and held it out.

"No thanks," said Toby, trying not to look to closely at the mushy thing. He stood up quickly and, in a pose reminiscent of King Jareth, stuck his hands on his hips and frowned deeply. "I want something to eat," he declared, setting his chin in a stubborn line.

A gnarled hand tugged at his pants. He looked down at another small goblin whose wide, toothy grin took up half of its face. It held one of the Easter eggs the goblins had been hiding. "Egg!" it offered proudly, somewhat ruining the kind gesture by proceeding to stuff the entire thing in its mouth.

Toby grunted, frustration making his eyes water. "Where's Sarah?" he asked petulantly. "I want Sarah!"

As a dozen goblins looked on in various stages of awe and facination, he threw back his head and began to howl.

* * *

In a shower of glitter and steam, Sarah and the Goblin King popped into existence - still pressed together -on the top of the massive bed where she had first awakened.

For the space of ten heartbeats, they were still, eyes locked, one upon the other. Then Sarah tore her gaze away and rolled off of him. She lay, staring at the ceiling, willing her breathing to calm.

The Goblin King watched her warily. "Sarah," he began, but she wouldn't let him finish.

She rolled from the bed and paced angrily at its foot. "You _used_ me," she said, the words bitter on her tongue. Her skin prickled and she could feel her color rising, but unlike earlier, no flames danced in her eyes. "It's not fair!"

As soon as the words left her lips, she regretted them. _Gods, will I _ever_ grow up?_

"But that's the way it is, Sarah." His voice was soft, but it sagged somehow.

She risked a glance at him, but he was no longer looking at her; his eyes were closed, weariness etched in every line of his face. She reached out, unthinking, to touch him, but drew back before her hand made contact. "I want to go home," she said quietly.

He sighed, a long, weary sound in her ears. "As you wish."

_So easy..._ Was she really surprised? Her blistered fingers ached and made it hard to think, but there was something she wouldn't forget. Not again. "Toby too," she said softly.

For a moment, he didn't answer. She watched the pulse fluttering beneath the thin skin of his throat. "Of course," he said finally, and something about his tone let her know the conversation was over.

Her stomach clenched, relief and disappointment warring within her. She needed to leave. She needed to go and pretend she had never come back to this place, had never felt the sear of silver fire beneath her skin. Had never felt...

A wild-eyed goblin burst through the chamber door. "Sire! The Prince! He's _leaking!"_

_

* * *

_

As the sun approached its zenith, the last of the gray clouds retreated and the orange sky took on a bluish cast like the lips of a drowning man.

The King of the Goblins stood on his balcony and pretended not to notice the small figure creeping toward him.

Hoggle, after being denied access at the main gate, had remembered a passageway that led directly from the bottom of an old, dry well to the storeroom below the castle kitchens. From there, it was a simple task to evade the goblins working within. Almost everyone was distracted by the melting snow and clearing skies. One small dwarf moving quickly and quietly through the castle to the king's quarters drew no attention at all.

Now he spied his quarry, oblivious in a patch of sunlight. _Preening like a cat,_ thought Hoggle with disgust. _He's got rid of the competition at last and damn the consequences._ Anger made him bold and he didn't stop to consider whether or not he was likely to survive his intended encounter.

Closer and closer he crept. In his pruning hand, something sharp caught the light and flashed. The Goblin King turned his head.

Hoggle froze.

"Come now, Higgle," drawled the king, "you're not really _trying_, now are you?"

With an incoherent cry, the dwarf lunged forward. He was so close...

"Halt!" Sir Didymus jumped down from his unseen perch above the balcony door. His whiskers were twitching and his small black eyes gleamed.

Hoggle stopped, unwilling to barrel through the small fox. "Get out of my way, Didymus," he snarled. Behind the little knight, the Goblin King was lazily adjusting his gloves, lips quirked in a mocking half-smile.

Sir Didymus waved his paws apologetically, continuing to block the way forward. "Forgive me, my brother, but I cannot let you pass."

"Let me through," demanded Hoggle, trying to press his advantage. The little fox was annoyingly limber and blocked his every attempt to slip past. "You don't know what he's done!"

Sir Didymus cocked his head questioningly. "What _who _has done?"

Hoggle stamped his feet, his whole body trembling with rage. "_Him!_" He jabbed a finger toward Jareth, still watching them from outside. "He killed Sarah!"

The little knight shook his head. "Fear not, my brother. Milady is alive and well and departed this chamber for her home above not three minutes earlier."

"Alive?" Hoggle's mouth fell open. "Alive?" he repeated, "she's not alive." He grabbed the little knight's collar and shook him hard. "Did you see the sky?"

The Goblin King stepped forward then and separated them easily. "I'll thank you to unhand my knight," he said coolly.

Hoggle released Sir Didymus and backed away in confusion. His eyes kept darting to the sky, as though checking its position. Something wasn't adding up. "The heat," he stammered, "the orange sky. You must have taken her below."

"Taken, and safely returned," said Jareth. He leaned over, bringing his face close. "Do you really think I'd destroy my _queen?_" He straightened, drawing a crystal from the air and letting it dip and weave amongst his fingertips.

Hoggle hacked and spit, narrowly missing the king's boots. "Yer delusional. She'll _never_ be your queen."

Jareth grinned, little sparks igniting on the ends of his hair. He tossed the crystal high into the air and vanished in a puff of glittering smoke.

His parting words hung in the air: _Won't she? We'll just see about that._


	6. Chapter 6

The trip home had been rough.

Sarah lay curled beneath a quilt on a narrow couch. Beside her on the floor, Toby was mostly invisible within a massive sleeping bag. The living room of her best friend Gi was dark and quiet, the only sounds the soft snores of her brother and the low hum from the fluorescent light fixture above the kitchen sink.

"It's not a night-light," Gi had apologized when she flipped it on, "but it will have to do." Toby was afraid of the dark, and Sarah had no other recourse. Plus, she felt better with it on too.

They had winked into being amidst the ruins of her dorm room. Smoke and water damage meant the whole place was closed. Someone had removed Sarah's personal belongings, but she had no clue where they were. It was very late when they arrived and once they managed to navigate their way clear of the damaged building, her only thought had been to get to a pay phone and call for help.

Gi had been only too happy to come to their rescue.

"Holy crap, Sarah, what the hell happened to you?" Gi had driven up in her latest wreck, a rusting Dodge Aries that stalled in the rain. The skies above the 7-11 where Sarah and Toby waited had been mercifully clear.

"We were Underground," whispered Sarah, though just why she was whispering she couldn't have said.

Toby, munching on Twinkies that Sarah had scrounged enough coins to buy, mumbled something that sounded like, "inta labduff".

Gi gave him a broad smile and helped him get settled among the piles of magazines and empty soda cans that littered the back seat. "Geez, Tobes, was that your idea?" She turned her head and winked at Sarah.

Sarah sighed. "Unfortunately, it was." She climbed wearily into the front passenger seat. It was weird that she was so tired. It had only been late morning at the castle. She shivered as she fastened her seat belt.

Gi whistled her surprise. She started the car, carefully pumping the gas until it was purring like an old cat. "Wanted to see your buddy the Goblin King, huh Toby?" Gi was familiar with the siblings' odd acquaintance and the chaos that accompanied him.

Toby didn't answer, but nodded his head in agreement.

Sarah, still whispering, said, "He wished himself away. I had to go after him."

Gi navigated the car through the campus gate and onto the sparsely occupied road that led into town. "Well I was going to say that you missed all the excitement around here, but it sounds as though you made your own fun."

Sarah grimaced. "Fun? Not so much." She looked at Gi. "What excitement?"

Gi jerked a thumb back toward the campus. "The fire, dummy. Or didn't you notice?" She turned onto a quiet street that dead-ended behind the old house where she had a basement apartment. "I got back yesterday and wondered where you were. I thought you had probably gone home."

Sarah looked startled. "Yesterday?" she asked. "I thought you were going to be at your Aunt's until Friday?" A terrible suspicion made her stomach twist.

Gi confirmed it. "Today is Saturday, Sarah." She glanced at the digital watch super-glued to the dashboard. "Well," she amended, "it _was._" The clock read 12:20 _am_.

Sarah blanched. Had they really lost a whole week? "You mean..."

Gi switched off the engine. In the back seat, Toby had fallen asleep, fingers still coated with Twinkie crumbs. She turned to Sarah, her usually happy face grave. "It's Sunday, Sarah. Happy Easter."

* * *

"I don't care _what_ time it is, Robert! Call again." Karen Williams, face blotchy from crying, implored her husband from within a too-white nest of hotel sheets.

Robert Williams had one beefy hand wrapped around the telephone, but so far had not made another call. "There's no _point_, Karen," he said, eyes darting to the neon green numbers of the little clock-radio beside the bed; they read 12:30 am. "The police will say the same thing they said at eight o'clock: don't call us, we'll call you." He let go of the phone, and sat down next to his wife.

"They might have heard something," she said petulantly. "They might be afraid to call _us_ this late."

Robert rubbed his eyes, and switched off the light. "Trust me. If they find Sarah and Toby, they'll call."

He swung his large legs onto the bed, trying to get comfortable in the foot of space his wife had left him.

Karen sniffled. "I _knew_ it was a mistake to leave Toby with _that girl._ She has no consideration. She doesn't know how I _worry._"

Robert sighed, shifting awkwardly. He wished he had sprung for the room with the king-sized bed. "I'm sure it's all a misunderstanding, sweetheart. Sarah probably left the list with our numbers on it when she and Toby evacuated the dorm. They're probably having a great time, staying with one of her college friends."

"But it's Easter!" Karen's voice was rising. "How will my Toby-Woby get his bunny basket if I'm not there to give it to him? _That girl_ will never think of it!"

"Sarah's more responsible than you give her credit for," said Robert calmly. "She'll explain everything when we find her tomorrow. I'm sure of it."

* * *

"Shit-shit-shit," swore Sarah, her voice soft in the fuzzy darkness of Gi's living room. Giving up on sleep, she rose and padded into the kitchen to check the time on the ancient stove clock. It read 2:30 am.

"Think, Sarah, think." She sighed and leaned back against the Formica counter, idly watching the fluorescent light flicker and wondering if Gi had anything edible in her fridge.

_Ping!_

Sarah jumped, feet slipping on the worn linoleum. _What the hell was that?_

_Ping!_

Sarah's head whipped around, following the noise. In the double-doored cupboard below the sink, something flashed.

_Ping!_ Another flash briefly lit the room, emanating from within the low cupboard. Cautiously, Sarah crept forward.

_Ping!_ Flash. _Plink._ Sarah stopped, head cocked to one side, analyzing the new sound.

_Ping! _Flash. _Plink._

_Maybe it's the Easter Bunny,_ thought Sarah somewhat hysterically. Another thought struck her: _maybe it's goblins._

"Hello?" Her voice was barely above a whisper. In the living room, Toby's soft breathing remained undisturbed.

Trembling now, her hand shaking badly, she reached for the cupboard door. "Hello?" She pulled it open with a quick jerk, simultaneously squatting down to better see what was inside. _There's nothing. There's nothing. There's nothing. _ The door swung open.

There was something.

A small avalanche of crystal balls came tumbling out around her feet. Each one glowed faintly - silvery light swirling beneath their surfaces.

"What the..." Sarah gingerly scooped one up and stood, holding it before her eyes. There was something about that swirling silver light...

"Sarah?" Gi appeared in the hallway adjoining the small kitchen. Watching her friend - seemingly mesmerized by the crystal - her face lost its sleep-slack look and became infused with alarm. "Drop it, Sarah!" she cried, starting forward.

Through the silver fog that enveloped her, Sarah heard Gi's voice. It sounded panicked; it sounded far away. She tried to turn toward her friend, but the ground beneath her feet was tilting, making her stumble. She held out her arms for balance, and touched a surface that was smooth and gently curved.

"Sarah!" sobbed Gi, skidding to a stop amidst the pile of crystals. Above her head, one floated, light as a bubble. Trapped within it, her friend shimmered in a voluminous gown of silver and white. The crystal/bubble moved purposefully toward the door and disappeared through it.

Gi, following closely behind, wrenched open the door and peered into the dark night. The luminous crystal was just visible among the evergreens beside the house; even as she watched, it winked out of sight and was gone.

_Gods, _ thought Sarah, _everything's dancing..._

_

* * *

_

_Music played; a familiar tune - its source not visible._

Sarah was dancing in the arms of the Goblin King.

They were dancing effortlessly, gliding over smooth, opalescent floors. There was plenty of room to dip and sweep, and while the curved walls were ever nearby, they never ran out of space. They were alone.

Sarah gave in to the temptation to close her eyes. Whirling about, following the light pressure of Jareth's hands on her waist, on the small of her back, Sarah had no need to _see._ The music ran through her, guiding her feet as surely as his hands. She felt like...

..._a queen. _His _queen. _At that moment, it was enough. She leaned into him and he responded by increasing the pressure of his fingers, pulling her closer. She was no dazzled teenager, blinded by his beauty and haunted by her own forgetting. Forgetting...

_Am I forgetting?_ She opened her eyes. He was watching her, not smiling, almost wary. His hair was streaked with a blue that matched his shimmering coat. It was the same as the first time they had danced together. She glanced down at her own dress. _Everything's the same..._

"Where's Toby?" The words hung in the air between them before she realized she had spoken.

He raised one eyebrow, surprised by her question. "Asleep, Sarah. On your friend's living room floor, I believe." He maneuvered them to a stop near the mirror-like wall. "Where else would he be?"

In the reflective surface of the curved wall, Sarah looked younger than her twenty-one years. "So I'm dreaming," she said softly.

The Goblin King's mouth quirked, and he tightened his grip even more. "If you wish," he said. "I've already told you that I can be very generous."

"Generous?" Sarah felt warm; too warm. "You've said that before, but your gifts have an annoying habit of being revoked." She twisted in his arms, trying to create more space between them.

He relented, changing his grip from her waist to her elbows, and then sliding his hands down to lightly grasp her fingers. "Not revoked, Sarah," he said gently, "just ... borrowed." He raised one arm up high and released her other hand, guiding her in a twirl. Stepping behind her, he reached around and recaptured her hand, pulling her back against him. "When you're _mine_," he breathed into her ear, "all your magic will return to you - all that you had and more."

Sarah drew in a sharp breath, feeling his words in her bones. _When you are mine..._ Did she want to be his? "I'm not ready," she said suddenly. Ignoring the music, she stood, still wrapped in his arms. "I'm not ready to belong to _anybody_, not yet."

He tugged and she slowly turned to face him. "I can wait," he said simply. "I'm incredibly patient." He bent down and kissed her softly. "Well," he amended, "I'm _somewhat_ patient." He grinned then, showing pointy white teeth. His eyes sparkled.

_And if he kisses me like that much more, his wait may be shorter than it should be. _The room began to spin then, and she leaned into him, letting him support her.

At that moment, it was enough.

* * *

A screech from Gi woke Sarah and Toby the next morning.

"What the hell..." Gi stood behind the sofa where Sarah had been sleeping, one hand leaning on its back while she examined the bottom of her bare foot. "It's an egg," she said with disgust. She looked around the small space, noting the many colored eggs scattered here and there on the floor.

Toby gave out a whoop of delight. "It's Easter!" He began reaching for all the eggs he could see, dropping them on the foot of his sleeping bag.

Sarah rubbed her eyes and looked up at Gi. "Did you...?"

Gi shook her head. "Not me." She grimaced, reaching for a tissue to wipe the goop from her foot.

"Goblins," said Sarah. "It must have been goblins." Seeing Gi's somewhat angry expression, she stifled the laugh that threatened to bubble forth. "Toby was teaching them about Easter eggs," she said by way of explanation.

Gi gave her a withering look. "Didn't he teach them that the eggs are supposed to be _cooked_?"

Sarah did laugh then, just a little. "I guess he didn't get that far." She shook her head. "I had the weirdest dream..."

Gi laughed nervously. "You too? Let me tell you about mine..."

They were interrupted by a knock on the door. Through the thin wood, the voice of Sarah's father could be heard. "Sarah? Toby? Are you in there?"

Gi pulled the door open, trying not to step on any more eggs in the process. A very relieved-looking Mr. and Mrs. Williams stepped through, arms full.

"Toby!" screeched Karen, ignoring Sarah and Gi and pushing past them into the living room. She was carrying a very large Easter Basket filled to overflowing with candy and trinkets. "Look what the Easter Bunny left for you, sweetie!"

Toby paused in his egg hunting. "Cool," he said, glancing at it, "another basket."

Karen was brought up short. "_Another_ basket? You already got an Easter Basket?"

Toby shrugged and pointed to a large basket sitting on the floor on the other side of Gi's favorite armchair. It was woven of sticks and moss, and it glittered in the early morning sunshine. Inside, the centerpiece was a huge chocolate goblin, though closer examination revealed other, smaller figures also rendered in chocolate.

Sarah came up behind Toby and peered over his shoulder. "Is that Sir Didymus?"

Toby grinned. "I think so." He picked up another figure and held it out to her. "Cool. It's the King!"

His mother frowned. "What do these things have to do with Easter? Where did this basket come from?"

Toby shrugged. "From the Easter Goblin, of course."

Sarah stifled a snicker. Her dad looked confused and Karen was clearly incensed.

"I just knew it was a mistake leaving you with your sister," said Karen, sniffling slightly. "She's got you all mixed up in her crazy fantasies." She picked up the tacky-looking plastic basket she had brought and moved to the door. "I'll wait in the car. Get your things, Toby. We're going home." Without another word she left.

Sarah's father let out a hiss as though he had been holding his breath. He was still cradling an enormous box with Sarah's name printed on the side. Gi rushed to take it from him and he surrendered it with a sigh.

"Looks like your stuff turned up," said Gi. She noted the somewhat lost expression on Mr. Williams face. "C'mon, Toby. Let's go pack your things." With a reassuring smile tossed in Sarah's direction, she guided Toby into the other room.

Robert Williams cleared his throat as he took in the small apartment. "This is nice," he said, voice uncertain.

"Dad...I..." Sarah fumbled a bit, trying to find the right words. "I...I'm really sorry. I should have called you right away - after the fire..." she trailed off, wishing it was evening and she could just go to bed already.

The big man waved away her apology. "It's okay, Sarah. I knew you were keeping Toby safe. It's just his mother, you know..."

Sarah nodded. "I know. Please tell her I'm sorry."

Her father looked longingly at the front door, then back at Sarah. "The residence office gave us your things. They said you'd need to stay somewhere else for a month, at least, before your dorm was ready." He glanced down the hallway where the voices of Toby and Gi could be heard, laughing. "Do you think your friend would...?"

Sarah nodded again. "Yeah. I can stay here. No problem."

He reached into his pocket, pulled out a tidy wad of bills, and awkwardly held them out to his only daughter. "Here," he said unnecessarily.

Sarah hesitated, just for a second, before reaching for the money. She'd need to contribute to Gi's rent, after all, and her gas and groceries too. "Thanks," she said. There didn't seem to be much more to talk about.

Just then Toby emerged from the rear bedroom, duffel bag in hand. Gi strode at his heels.

Mr. Williams seemed relieved to see his son. "All set, then? Great. Let's go." He put a hand on the doorknob.

"Wait, Dad," said Toby. He ran into the living room and grabbed the goblin basket, stopping to shove as many colored eggs as would fit in among the candy. Returning to his dad's side, he grinned. "Okay, now I'm ready."

Sarah gave him a hug, which he tolerated, and then a kiss, which he did not. "Yeesh," he said, wiping it off. He grinned again. "Bye Sarah! Bye Gi!" And just like that, he was out the door.

Sarah gave her dad a quick peck on the cheek. "Bye Dad. Drive safely. See you in a couple months."

Mr. Williams stared at her for a minute, looking as though he might say something else. Finally he gave her a little wave and departed.

Sarah flopped back onto the sofa and threw an arm up over her eyes. "Gi?"

Gi was in the kitchen, making coffee. "What?"

"I...oh...never mind." She turned to face the back of the sofa, pulling up her legs like a snail into its shell.

Gi appeared by her side, two coffee mugs in hand. She set one down carefully on the side table and sipped the other. "You need a break, Sarah. You need to have some fun - go dancing or some such."

Weariness swept over Sarah. She closed her eyes. "Dancing?" she repeated. An image of the Goblin King guiding her across a polished dance floor rose in her mind. _Will he be there again? In my dreams?_

"Sarah!" Gi poked her with a knee. "It's not naptime. What are you doing?"

Sarah curled up even tighter, a small smile on her face. "Just taking your advice," she said quietly.

Gi snorted, but let her sleep. There was something about her friend's expression that said it would be enough - for now.

_**Fin**_

_Author's Note: Here ends the third in my vaguely holiday-themed linked stories about the reappearance of magic in the life of Sarah Williams. If things still seem unresolved, it's because the story will continue. This has been, but another interlude... *whistling innocently*_


End file.
